New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1887-08-10
A TEXAS CATTLE RANCH,

"A Il EHAS GA ELE. RANCH.
me Million Acres OF Land ControIl-
led by One Man-The Methods EN-.
iployed.
The great Matador ranch is situated
| pom the headWaters of Pease river,
J ndS comprises nearly the whole of
. aotley county, about one-third of
dickens, about third of Cottle, and
| bout one-fourth of Floyd county, and
sontains nearly three hundred more
.puare miles than the state of Rhode
Stand. 1t comprises more than one
billion of acres of land, upon which
here are more than one hundred thous-
nd head of cattle. The location of
his great ranch is one of
eculiar adaptability to the scale of
tperations which characterize it as one
# the most complete and magnificent
fanches in the west. It covers the
hree forks which form the sources of
pease river, with all their aff1uents and
entire water system, extending thence
10 the .Brazos, and including some of
Ehe sources of that river. It is thus
Furnished with an ample supply of
water in all its portions. 1t is also ira
IVersed by thousands of small streams
chat flow from the innumerable springs
which burst from the canyons, gulches,
and breaks of the plains. Its physical
features are divided between the plains
which compose about one-fourth of it's
,irea, and the basins and broken coun-
Try, which consist of valleys, hills, and
very diversity of landscape, which
f:om the canyons and basins often
ave the appearance of mountains of
very variety of shape, but are really
My remnants Of the plains standing
Tut in peaks hundreds Of feet above the
Grounding basins and gulches. These
FORD valuable shelter to the cattle
tom the bleak winds or .'northers, as
ttAey are called in Texas, which sweep
over the plains in piercing icy blasts
! from the mountains of the north and
west.
y The soil Of the plains consists of
led loan, that of the valleys and basins
! o. q sandy loan, and that of the hills
consists chiefly of sand and gravel. The
prevailing rocks are gypsum and lime
stone, the former composing the
principal strata. There is no SIGN of
any volcanic action. Every formation
is surfacial and the natural result of
heat, air, and water. The plains
are covered with gramma and mesquit
grass, while the basins and broken
country afford the best mesquit pastur-
age.
There are five different pastures for
bulls and horses and two for beef
cattle, one of which contains ninety
thousand acres and the other one
hundred thousand acres, and the varied
! classes of cattle are distributed through
out the ranch during the different
seasons. There are sixteen complete
and well-arranged corrals for marking
and branding calves, situated in differ
eut parts of the ranch, and it requires
more than three hundred miles of fenc-
ing to inclose the ranch and divide its
pastures.
There are about four thousand bulls
Df different breeds on the ranch, COM
i. rising Herefords, polled Angus, and
Eorthorns, or Durhams and their
trades. OF the various mixtures of
@lese, the favorite strain is a cross Of
1e# common Texas COW with the short
J Eorn, and then re-crossed with Here
ford. The polled Angus is, upon the
whole, the best adapted to the plains.
las their long hair protects them better
, rom the bleak winds which sweep
over the elevated ranches.
There about one thousand saddle and
Hork-horses kept for the use of the
ranch, and the average number of cow
@aoys employed during the entire year is.
( about seventy-fve. Some of these are
/ in guard-camps in different parts of the
ranch. whence they sally forth daily
and traverse the ranch i'll every direc-
lion to see that all is well with the cat
lie, and to give them whatever assist
ance may be necessary. Others watch
The fences. some repair the wagons and
harness, and some go over the ranch in
squads of a dozen in charge of fore
man, carrying with them a wagon load
Jsd with provisions, cooking utensils,
branding irons, and stake ropes, for the
purpose of branding the calves which
sould not be gotten to the pens, separ-
/ sting the cattle intended for marke